SPACs have been around for a while and plenty of reputable companies have gone that route
Why so defensive? People have a right to be skeptical about SPACs. They've only been "mainstream" for the past couple years and are quickly losing steam as a vehicle for public exposure[1].
Yes there was an explosion in SPACs and that died down back to normal levels but even before that plenty of companies that are performing very well went public via a SPAC. Saying it's "never reputable" is just wrong.
If somebody thinks all SPACs are pump and dumps they probably only learned about them recently through the media
But as of late SPAC stocks are almost defined as an avenue for pumping fees and pushing shit companies into the public markets.